Chapter 11
S omething had shifted between them in that cottage.
After sleeping on their bedrolls in front of the fire, with no need for their body heat to warm them, Liana found herself missing him during the night. It was silly, of course, since she’d slept alone all of her life.
At first, things had seemed as usual. They’d taken care of their needs, put out the dying fire, and prepared to leave. Though the ground was still muddy, the weather made up for itself, the clouds having passed, leaving a clear sky in their wake. Though still chilly, the ride had been pleasant enough until the road opened and Liana found herself side by side with Darien.
At first, they spoke of the path ahead. The abbey Darien hoped to reach that eve. How long he anticipated their journey would take. But then, in a stretch of silence, she looked over to find him watching her in a way that Liana could not ignore.
Aye, something had shifted between them. A trust had been forged but with an undertone of...more. Since the moment he stepped into her mother’s cottage, Liana had told herself she could not see him in that way. If he’d grown even more handsome, it mattered naught. That he was as capable as rumor promised was well and good for the future of Ely. And when he looked at her in that way? Well, it was simply because he’d not seen her in many years and was curious.
But there was more than curiosity in his gaze.
“How do you interpret it?” he asked, proving there was something more on Darien’s mind than the road ahead. “Two souls aligning for a purpose beyond themselves? Do you believe that purpose is restoring the queen to the throne?”
How many times had her mother told her that sometimes, a question was more than a question? That answering honestly did not always mean divulging every thought?
Without lying to him, Liana skirted the question. “In part. Aye.”
Hoping to leave it at that, she looked up, grateful for the sun’s warmth. Pretending to be distracted by their surroundings, she strained her neck to peer over the small hill they were beginning to crest.
“There was more to the reading, was there not?”
She attempted to tease him away from the topic. “Are you a seer now, too? Sir Darien of Crimson Hollow? Is that a village down there?” she asked, the answer to her question obvious.
Darien slowed as they crested the hill, and she was forced to do the same. When they stopped, both of them now peering below, she avoided looking at him until doing so became impossible.
“Liana?”
She swallowed, his voice drawing her gaze despite her attempts to avoid the moment. When she met his eyes, there was a softness she hadn’t anticipated, something deeper lingering there that made her heart race. She sighed, knowing he wouldn’t let this go so easily.
“Aye,” she admitted softly. “There was more.”
“What did it say?” Though his voice was steady, there was an undercurrent of something more.
Liana hesitated, feeling the weight of the rune’s warning. She reached into her pouch and pulled it out again, turning the stone over in her fingers. “It was Gebo, the rune of partnership.” She held it up for him to see the cross-like mark engraved into the smooth surface. “It symbolizes balance, exchange...a bond between people.”
Darien’s brow furrowed, his eyes flicking from the rune to her face. “A bond,” he echoed. “Between us?”
Her breath caught at the directness of his question. She nodded. “It signifies a gift, but also responsibility. A connection that cannot be ignored. I asked whether this journey would be a fruitful one...and the rune answered with Gebo . It means we are bound together, Darien—perhaps more than we realize.”
He stared at her, the meaning sinking in, and Liana felt the space between them shift again, the air growing heavier with what wasn’t being said. She forged ahead. “As usual, the runes’ message can be confusing. If you were any other man, I might think...”
She stopped, unable to say the words.
“If I were any other man?”
She could not say it.
“You said last eve you trusted me. Do so now, knowing I will never judge or be angry about anything that comes from your readings.”
“’Tis not that,” she explained. “I do not believe you are quick to anger.”
He clearly did not understand. Liana had no choice but to explain. “If you were any other man, I would interpret the bond in a romantic way. But of course, that cannot be between us. So I am uncertain how to interpret it, which is why I did not attempt to do so. Besides,” she rushed to finish. “What is important is our shared mission. Naught else matters.”
If Liana could jump off her horse and find a place to hide, she would do so.
Darien said nothing, which made it worse.
“Should we not go?” she asked, prepared to spur her mount forward.
“Liana.”
He said it with enough authority that she froze. For certain, he was the earl’s son, lest she forget the fact.
“Aye?”
“You said the runes do not lie.”
“I am not as trained as my mother,” she explained. “She would be certain, and if she were here?—”
“Yet she is not. And you are a skilled seer in your own right, which is why you accompany me now.”
“As I said, interpretation is needed. ’Tis obvious, this is one of those times.”
“Why?” he asked, his expression unreadable. “Why is it so obvious?”
This was precisely the conversation she wished to avoid.
“You are an earl’s son. I am the seer’s daughter. A witch, as many of the villagers believe. We are not meant for anything more than the same relationship as our parents.” It occurred to her that Darien was not as shocked as he should be.
Of course.
He’d never marry a woman such as her, but a man and woman did not need to marry to engage in the sort of relations that, perhaps, the runes had hinted at. Feeling foolish, she no longer wished to remain under Darien’s scrutiny.
This time, when he called to her as Liana spurred her mount forward, she did not heed the call. Instead, she raced down the hill, too fast. Embarrassed and now scared as she picked up speed, Liana attempted to slow down. It was only as the hill began to flatten that Liana successfully came to a stop. Before she could allow relief to flow through her, Darien had dismounted and grabbed her reins.
“You could have killed yourself at such a speed.”
She turned back, surprised to see such a steep incline. “I did not intend?—”
Her words were cut off as Darien reached for her arm. She hadn’t realized how hard she’d been gripping the reins until he rested his hand on her wrist.
“I know you did not. But please do not do that again. If you were to be hurt, on account of trying to help me...”
He pulled his hand back, and Liana loosened her grip.
“Whatever that bond is, Liana, it will not make me careless with your safety. Nor with your heart.”
She blinked, startled by the honesty in his tone, and his words. And before she could respond, he gave her a small, almost imperceptible nod, and then—just as quickly as the moment had come—it was gone.
He re-mounted, leaving Liana to consider what he meant, precisely. Without a word, she urged her horse forward as they rode toward the village, side by side once again.